Everyday Food For Everyday People

I love the subtle flavour of perch. I first came across it about 10 years ago and bought it not knowing what it was. That happens a lot in Spanish fish markets. After cooking and tasting it, I was surprised that I hadn't had it before. I don't cook it often enough as it is a great fish.

This morning when perusing the fish counter and the sea of so many interesting looking ummmm, fish, to choose from, there were these lonely perch fillets. Sold!

Step one accomplished for dinner. But what to do with them. I remember making a lemon bread crust a few times for cod and I am sure it would work with perch as well. This is such a tasty combination. Honestly, it does not need the sauce. But the sauce is wonderful as a side accompaniment. People, like my husband. like sauce with pretty much everything. So a subtle side of parsley sauce it is.

Crusted Perch with Parsley Sauce

Crusted Perch with Parsley Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the Fish:

One Fillet of Perch, approximately 1lb, cut into 4 pieces1/2 Cup/50 grams of bread crumbsZest of one lemonJuice of one lemon1/4 Cup/25 grams of fresh grated parmesanSmall bunch of fresh chopped parsleySalt and pepper to taste2 Tablespoons of butter2 Garlic cloves, crushed

First make the sauce. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour until a paste forms and cook for a further minute or so. Stir in the mustard and milk. Continue whisking until a smooth sauce appears. this will only take a minutes. Add parsley, salt and pepper. Stir and cover until your fish is cooked.

Prepare the fish first by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium sized baking dish, lay the fish out and set aside. Melt the the butter in a small skillet and add the garlic. Cook until sizzling and remove from heat and set aside. Combine the bread crumbs, lemon zest, parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper and mix well. Spoon the garlic butter over the fish and squeeze over the lemon juice. Top with the bread crumb mixture. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until fish flakes apart.